Gypsy Rose Lee
Kathy Pinna A famous "striptease" dancer, Gypsy Rose Lee shed her clothes (but not all of them!) with elegance and wit.
Mata Hari
Kathy Pinna Grietje Zelle, known as "Mata Hari" on stage, in 1906 Paris. Her stage presence - and her life - were considered scandalous but she lived the way she chose to!
Quaker School dancers
Kathy Pinna 1920 dancers at the Friends Select School - May Festival.
Ginger Rogers
Kathy Pinna Best known for dancing with Fred Astaire, she could do it all - from tap to dancing backwards in high heels!
TheIsadorables
AncientFaces Isadora Duncan is considered "The Mother of Modern Dance". These are some of the girls she taught.
Elizabeth Duncan
AncientFaces Sister of Isadora, she ran a school of dance in Germany and Greece
Ruth St. Denis
AncientFaces Another pioneer of modern dance, this is Ruth St. Denis in 1909.
The "Butterfly Dance"
AncientFaces Suffragettes performing their own version of modern dance for the cause in 1913.
"Dancer"
AncientFaces Her name isn't recorded but this colorized close-up of a dancer somewhere in the '20's or 30's gives you an idea of the types of costumes during that era.
The artistry
AncientFaces This is a 1927 photo of Ruth St. Denis - the focus in dance was on the artistry, as this photo shows.
Guthrie dancers 1924
AncientFaces Greek and Roman influences were a large part of the modern dance movement.
Autochrome of a dancer
AncientFaces The autochrome process (a color photo) was patented in 1903 and widely used from the 1910's through the mid 1930's.
Dancers in nature
AncientFaces The female form, as well as nature, was celebrated in modern dance.
Bebe Daniels 1934
Kathy Pinna She was a silent screen star and dancer - nothing "natural" abouthercostume!
Maria-Theresa Duncan
AncientFaces These are the Isadorables, including Maria-Theresa Duncan who was an adopted daughter of Isadora Duncan.
Florence Fleming Noyes
AncientFaces Florence Noyes danced for women's rights - can't you see the movement in this photo?
Women as Madonna?
AncientFaces These are the Isadorables, posed more as a tableau than a dance form.
Ruth St. Denis
AncientFaces Is she scared? Is she amazed?? What exactly is she portraying in this dance?
Frolicking!
AncientFaces Dancing in nature was a favored part of the Duncan sisters' art.
1940's Glam
She was a 1943 dancer at the Roxy.
Fairies?
AncientFaces The lights on this circa 1920 photo could be deterioration but it looks like fairies to us!
1919 Grace
AncientFaces Aren't they just the picture of grace?
"La Argentina"
AncientFaces Antonia Mercé y Luque, known as "La Argentina", in 1935.
Marion Morgan Dancers
AncientFaces Marion Morgan was a vaudevillian who created her own dance troupe.
Look at her muscles!
AncientFaces Look closely, Marion Morgan really worked out with her dance.
A nymph by the waterfall
AncientFaces Another outdoor dance!
Isadora Duncan
AncientFaces She lead a tragic life (all her children died young, as did she) but she left great beauty and a lasting legacy.
Outdoor Elizabeth Duncan
AncientFaces The art of the photo, both in dance and reflection!
Marion Morgan
AncientFaces The cymbal and the form!
A flowing costume
AncientFaces The artistry comes from the interplay of costume and dance.
Perky!
It isn't known if she was a USO performer or on the stage - but she sure is perky!
Like a statue!
AncientFaces She's posed - not yet dancing. But her costume allows everything to be seen when she does dance.
Isadora
AncientFaces Isadora Duncan was known for her dancing with scarves. And it was a scarf that killed her in 1927 - a scarf that she was wearing was caught in the spokes of the wheels of a car and strangled her.
